beginning with breaking news from wilmington, delaware, as many as three people are dead after a shooting at the newcastle county courthouse. this happened around 8:00 this morning. several ambulances responded to the scene, and we have received word that two police officers were taken to the hospital with non life threatening injuries. thank you for joining us. i'm j.c. hayward. we have stunning news from the vatican today. pope benedict xvi says he is stepping down at the end of the month. catholics around the world are wondering who will replace him. we now get the latest information from anna at the vatican. >> reporter: pope benedict xvi delivered the surprising message in a speech to cardinals at the vatican this morning. the 85-year-old pontiff said he will step down february 28th, because he is simply too old to

carry on. the leered of more than a billion roman catholics said carrying out his duties requires quote both strength of mind and body. the news stunned the church leaders around the world. >> i have to be honest, i'm as shocked and startled as all of you. >> reporter: it is the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years. on the streets of europe, some people refused to believe it. he says it can't be true, it would be too huge for the church for something like this to happen. a vatican spokesman said the pope deserves respect for making such a personal and courageous decision to quit. the pope's resignation sets the stage for a new papal election. vatican officials hope to elect a new pope in time for holy week at the end of march. pope benedict had big shoes to fill in 2005 when cardinals chose him to succeed john paul ii. one of his biggest tasks was responding to the priest's sex

abuse scandal. pope benedict issued an apology to victims and said the church made serious mistakes. today the pontiff calls his choice to resign quote delia goncalves continues our coverage. >> reporter: good afternoon j.c. the mass here at 12:10 starts at the basilica expects to be full of parishioners here to pray

for the pope, are pray for his next chapter and the next chapter of the catholic church. monday mass at the basilica and the pope's resignation on the minds of many. it makes him more relatable to the people, not just this political figure and religious figure. >> with sadness, pope benedict has been such an inspirational leader for the church. >> he was himself a university professor and his writings are really pro found. >> reporter: john garvey, president of catholic university of america says the pope's visit five years ago left a lasting impression on campus. garvey admits the noun 895-year-old pontiff looks frail even back then, yet remained a

giant figure. >> in some ways he is the spiritual leered of the world. >> whoever the next pope is going to be is going to need a lot of prayer and good smarts and an ability to reach out to people who are far and way in the church. >> reporter: pope benedict's had statements that seemed to be offensive to muslims jews and latin americas. still he will be remembered for his efforts in strengthening the catholic church, and its core beliefs. >> his legacy will be having followed pope john paul ii. (audio difficulty) (audio difficulty) (audio difficulty) that region

represents 42% of the 1.23 billion catholics around the world. pope benedict was inaugurated in 2005 and for the first time in recent history the leader of the catholic church is leaving while he is still alive. stacey cohen has been following the story since it broke early this morning. she is joining us live now from northwest washington with more information, clearly, clearly, this is a shock to all of his followers. what are you hearing? >> reporter: well j.c., it has been a shock not only to the 1.2 billion catholics worldwide but to noncatholics alike.

when you think this is something that hasn't taken place since the 1400s, when a pope resigned for entirely different reasons, i mean it is clearly unexpected. although he has been ill for the past year or so, and there was some speculation that perhaps he might step down, many didn't think it was a reality. he was 5 years old, older now than when his predecessor pope john paul passed away. that is to be taken into consideration. some of the are cardinals here in the united states are reacting. we heard from cardinal timothy dolan in new york, he was elevated to that office by pope benedict. let's hear what he had to say. >> i would presume his esteem for the office as the successor of st. peter and the chief pastor of the (audio difficulty) still to

come when 9news continues we will have new developments in the search for a rogue california cop accused of killing outside a wave

a 14-year-old is being charged as an adult in the murder of his seven-month-old sister. police say baby larissa was left from the care of her brother

jonathan a aguilera. the teenager admitted covering her nose and her mouth in order to stop her from crying. he is due in court for a bond hearing this afternoon. a $11 million reward is now being offered for help to capture a former los angeles police officer wanted for murder. christopher dorner is accused of killing three people to avenge his firing from the police force. a massive search around big bear, where dorner's burned out truck was found has now been scaled back. coming up next, howard and the forecast. >> reporter: jc, we are still waiting for some of the air to get to us. 50s and even 60s. around here we are stuck in the 40s, only 43 in arlington. but a better afternoon headed our way. details, coming up

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you have got them. right now pay $49.99 for the headphones from me electronics. that saves you 45% off with best buy.com. and here's free turkish coffee this week at 90,817th street northwest tomorrow between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. turkish airlines is handing out free turkish cough of fee. it is also -- coffee. it is also handing out free promotional fares this month, prices start at 500 bucks a person. i'm about thing more online. if you have an offer you have seen or are a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i would love to hear from you on facebook. i'm jessica doyle, wusa9. we are linking up with masn to bring you 20 washington nationals games right here on wusa9. that's righting you can watch the nationals games right here

starting with the washington nationals opening day, april 1, against the miami marlins. of course w usa 9's president and general manager mark bur debt is beside himself following last year's 98 win season and playoff appearance, we are all thrilled to be able to bring you part of the nationals 2013 season. >> on paper they should be a better team than last year. >> i'm ai baseball -- a baseball fan. but what is this about two chance of snow? >> reporter: one wednesday night and one on the weekend. today is going to end up being a mild day for most of us. of some of us may get stuck still, but give it a few more hours. the warmth is oh so close. here's a look at the day planner, still quite foggy across much of the immediate metro area. a couple of breaks, mostly cloudy this afternoon as we

make a run toward 55. i was thinking this morning when we might get into the upper 50s. fog has been a problem. quantico three quarters of a mile. the fog is shifting east baltimore and out west of town, good visibility where the warmer air is moving in. we have showers yesterday where earlier this morning they are now pushing across the northeast. bad news because they have snow covered roofs and stuff and this will get real heavy. a couple of sunny breaks in parts of the west virginia panhandlal. cumberland is 50. off to the south, almost 50 now at the airport, annapolis 51, 44 with lots of cloud and some fog still in washington. feeling like 3, south winds at 9 trying to scoop out all the cold air left at the surface. i want to tell everybody out west, wind advisory tonight until tomorrow morning, gusts

45 to 55 in the mountains in western virginia as well. west is pretty quiet, we have a big storm really big one up in the great lakes. the snow is there, this is helping to drive those winds for tonight. also push the showers through this morning. all the rain going back to texas low pressure going to form on that. we'll be north of it tomorrow, breezy tomorrow highs in the low 50s. then as we head into wednesday, this is when we see perhaps sun early in the day, clouds are going to increase by noon. notice the rain in southeastern west virginia. that is going to lift toward us. by the time we get into wednesday night maybe late afternoon the rain is going to turn into a little bit of snow. if we have any issues they will be wednesday night, which could lead to delays, et cetera on thursday morning. tonight going to have the winds picking up, temperatures mid-

30s in the northern shanendoah valley. looking for a low of 39. forecast today, eventually 55 degrees, going to be optimistic about that. mostly cloudy, tonight 38 as we head through tomorrow, 52 a mild and breezy day, we have this yellow alert out for wednesday with the lane and the snow at night. highs in the mid-40s. thursday and friday partly sunny mid-40s and cold this weekend with potentially snow sometime on saturday. j.c., back to you. howard we are learning the military personnel are committing suicide at an alarming rate. in fact their best numbers are higher than service personnellal who die in combat. four years ago an organization was established to fight this disturbing trend, and today on hero central, i'm saluting companions for hero. >> uncolonel love, i can tell

him anything, i don't have to worry about being repeated. >> reporter: when raymond cook got out of the military, he developed most traumatic stress disorder and wanted to commit suicide. four years ago he learned about companions for heroes, a program that led him to his best friend meyer, are who gave him a new lease on life. >> i had been in school, serving in the military. but there was a dark side of me no one could touch. i wouldn't let anyone in. >> reporter: but meyer has been able to breakthrough. companions for heroes matches animals who face death because they don't have a home with veterans, active military and first responders. so far there have been over 140 perfect matches. >> it is the best work i have ever done in my life. it is a compilation of what i have done. what you are doing is saving two lives at once. >> reporter: the adoptions are free and the new owner is able to get financial aid and access

to a professional dog train tore make sure the pet's health and behavior are compatible. >> our founder, david sharp, had such a wonderful idea from his own experience to pair veterans and shelter pets for mutual healing. and the thing is, it works. >> reporter: he never thought a four legged animal would mean so much in his life. >> founder david sharp is an air force veteran. three years ago, he spoke to us when the organization was first started. >> there was a time when i wanted to take my own life and she walked in, little puppy that she was, she walked in and licked my face. >> reporter: today meyer not only touches cook's life, but he is an important part of the entire family. >> my father hated dogs. but he loves meyer. meyer has been there when my granddaughter was born, two granddaughters, my grandson adores him. >> don't you love that story?

i do. companions for heroes does not receive government support. if you are interested fill out an online application. you can get all the details by going to my website j.c.

valentine's day is thursday, don't say i didn't warn you. so be sure to remember your sweetheart. and you know cupcakes are all the rage now, and i have kristen kendall from lily mcgillly. they have fabulous cupcakes. but she says we can do this at home. it is very easy? >> you can use a box to decorate your cupcakes and decorate with

your kids. we have red and pink fond dant, you can buy it at the store already colored at michael's or any craft store that sells cake decorating products. i have basically rolled it out. use a regular rolling pin and any cutter. since it is valentine's day we'll do heart ones. you can put it right on top of the cupcake. and it is something you can do with your kids too and theyen i didn't to decorate the cupcakes. >> what else? >> we have these. so if you see this one here you can kind of make a little flower out of the candy corn. valentine's day you can buy them in pink. >> what are these? >> chock clast -- chocolates, kind of like m and ms. >> this is a great activity.

if you want it already beautiful go to lily mcgillly and pick up a dozen already designed. >> already designed. >> and there one is calling on me. of i have got to try it. do you want to try one? >> these are my favorite. >> thanks for being with us. come back and visit us at 5:00. >> thank you. >> thanks for having us.